A second DUI in Utah

One prior conviction within ten years of the current conviction, or of the offence it is based on, raises the class from B to A and moves every number in the sentencing section. The custody floor becomes ten days, or five days combined with not fewer than thirty consecutive days of home confinement through electronic monitoring that includes a substance abuse testing instrument. The fine floor rises from $700 to $800, probation stops being optional, and the court may designate the person an interdicted person and take the Utah licence or identification card. The 24-7 sobriety escape hatch narrows too: on a first offence the court may suspend the jail term outright, but on a second it may suspend only after five days have actually been served, and after ten on a third. Where the second offence is an extreme DUI the floor is twenty days, or ten days with sixty days of monitored home confinement, or ten days plus court-ordered substance abuse treatment where the court finds treatment more likely to reduce reoffending.

Start from what the statute forces and what it leaves to the judge. The floor here is not less than 10 days — or 5 days plus 30 consecutive days of home confinement with electronic monitoring, and it moves on the facts: a passenger under 16, or a driver aged 21 or older with a passenger under 18 means class a misdemeanor instead of class b. Everything above that floor is argued, and the same conviction can end up served in custody, on work release or as a condition of probation depending on the county and the judge. What no one can promise you is a sentence below the statutory minimum — that is not a question of persuasion.

Class A misdemeanor: not less than 10 days — or 5 days plus 30 consecutive days of home confinement with electronic monitoring, and a fine of not less than $800. The range is set by Utah Code § 41-6a-505(5), (7), (8); § 41-6a-502(2)(b)(iv), and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.

A passenger under 16, or a driver aged 21 or older with a passenger under 18 — class a misdemeanor instead of class b. Driving the wrong way at the time of the offence — class a misdemeanor instead of class b.

Utah restricts the driver, not the car: once you are an interlock restricted driver, you may not drive anything without a device — motorcycles included. The restriction is added to your license record and you are notified by post; police can see it, and driving a vehicle without a device gets you cited on the spot. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by Utah Driver License Division (Department of Public Safety).